CHELAN — The North Kitsap Herald won six awards, including third place for Community Service, in the 2014 Better Newspapers Contest sponsored by the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association.
The awards were presented at the association’s annual convention, Oct. 2-4 at Campbell’s Resort in Chelan. The Herald competed against other newspapers in Group III (circulation of 5,001 to 12,500). The contest was judged by members of the Arizona Newspaper Association, Pamplin Media Group in Oregon, and media professionals from Colorado, Montana and Washington.
All told, 56 judges reviewed 2,302 entries in all circulation groups. The contest period was April 1, 2013 to March 31, 2014.
— First place, Special Events/Festivals Special Sections: To Donna Etchey, Mark Gillespie, Karen Johnson and Clare Ortblad, for “’Tis the Season” holiday magazine.
— Second place, Best General Feature Story: To Kipp Robertson, for “These socks are out of this world — literally,” about Poulsbo Elementary School’s knitting club, which knit socks for astronauts going to the International Space Station in 2014.
— Third place, Community Service: To the North Kitsap Herald for its efforts to educate the public about the Port of Poulsbo’s annexation measure.
— Third place, Best Comprehensive Coverage: To Kipp Robertson, Megan Stephenson and Richard Walker, for their coverage of the Indianola dock closure and aftermath.
— Third place, Best Feature Page Design: To Mark Gillespie and John Rodriguez, for their depiction of a superhero for the cover of Kitsap Week.
— Third place, Ad Campaign for Single Advertiser: To Mark Gillespie, Annie LaValle and Frank Portello, for their Port Gamble General Store and Cafe advertising campaign.
In addition, Discover Kitsap, a regional tourism guide to which the Herald staff contributes, won second place in the category of Tourism/Community Guide Special Sections.
Herald reporter Richard D. Oxley, formerly of the Bainbridge Island Review, was part of the Review’s team that won first place for Color Photo Essay of the opening of the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art. The team also won third place for Best Website for its online coverage of the Museum of Art’s first day.
All told, Sound Publishing Co.’s Kitsap newspapers — Bainbridge Island Review, Bremerton Patriot, Central Kitsap Reporter, Port Orchard Independent, and the Herald — earned 41 awards.
